It's not often that i speak up in this forum even though i see some things going on that i personally believe are childish and disrespectful.

I think that it's absolutely horrible that these sections will be being shut down because of a few bad seeds (if that is the case). This really was a great place to be able to find good deals from fellow vintage drum enthusiasts.

Sure people can say that that's what ebay and craigslist are for but i just felt a little bit more comfortable getting things in here then those places and also a lot of times i could find stuff here that i couldn't find it those places.

So if those sections are being shut down because of those people that just want to whine and complain and act like a 5 year old child then you are just saying "ok, you win". People can just bust in here and be bullies and because of that we lose something that most of us respected and treated right.

It is said that sometimes the loudest thing you can say to someone is nothing at all. I believe that's true. If someone wants to come in here and be a bully i believe it's best to just ignore them and they will not get what they want and go away. If they are doing anything to harm people in this forum by either trying to hurt them physically or scam them then i believe that can be handled too in a civil manner.

Regardless, the fact is that those sections are going to be closed and because of that i will have less and less of a need to be on this forum. I've been seeing this happen in this forum and i just hope that it doesn't dwindle down to nothing and just be a wasteland.

I will, however, (for now anyways) continue to fight for the forum quietly by continuing to post new threads and respond to posts and PMs respectfully and not misuse the power to do so. I know that there are other people on here will do the same and i can only hope that will keep it afloat for a while until bullies beat us down again and continue their take over of this site.

Thanks for that David.....
This is bound to be a good thing.
I know we are a double handful at times to put up with, so if this is better for you in any way, then I am all for it.
Change is always a little uncomfortable at first, but we will all become accustomed to the different way of doing things.
Thanks for all your hard work, and Happy Holidays !!
Kev

The forum itself was not the first web site. The main Vintage Drum Guide originally called Vintage Snare Drums was the original site that I created to display drums and history.

That grew to a very large size with a lot of traffic and tons of content. Because of that the questions were pouring in. It was very difficult to keep up with the questions and help people in a timely manner alone.

So that is when the forum started. It was a two-fold forum. Send people with questions to get them answered in a way I could keep track of them and also let visitors know when new history and updates were made to the main web site. That is why this section is here and where I post.

Membership is key in making it a success, because I could not answer most of the questions fast enough and that is where other people have stepped in to take up the cause.

All forums go through this exact thing. Once they hit a certain size the content and dynamic change. (that started at least 12-16 months ago) It goes without saying once you add more people to the mix, then more problems begin to arise.

In many cases people migrate from other forums that they no longer want to be a part of and then try and make a new home. It is only a matter of time when past issues find them with former members and the they begin stirring up old wounds.

I'm no rookie to forums and I'm a member of at least 10. Also many
non-drum forums. Forums that are for programs or software have little to no funny business. People want help they get the help and if the admins see anything at all that is not related to getting help, they delete it. No questions asked.

It is the only way to keep advancing the program or software and improving it for new customers.

In retrospect that was the original format of the forum. People ask a question then they get the answer. Rarely anything else was posted.

I originally had a welcome section, a pro drummer section and other sections, but closed them early in the forum. They made no sense to me and I only had them from seeing sections like that on other forums.

Plus many forums have a free-for-all section where anything and any topic can be posted. That is a ticking time bomb....

So I see it as trying to simplify this location and open up others that better serve the community.

As an example here is an email I just got today....

"Hi there. I just wanted to thank you for your site. It was invaluable to me in restoring a newly acquired 1957 Slingerland kit.

Thanks for a wonderful site, the fantastic information, and the service you provide!"

This is what it is all about to me and what is has always been. Providing as much useful information as possible to help people all over the world.

Anything that interferes with that on this forum is really what I want to try and move to a new location.